Virtu Financial LLC Invests $974,000 in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,326 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $974,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% in the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.00.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $139.19 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.25. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $96.00 and a 52 week high of $155.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $43.12 billion, a PE ratio of 62.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $707.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 166.82%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total value of $6,260,151.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 110,341 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.35, for a total transaction of $15,486,359.35. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,601,140.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at $161,475,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 702,930 shares of company stock valued at $97,948,044. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Company Profile

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.